COVID AIRPLANE NIGHTMARE

My fiancée Swantje (a German national) and I (James, a British national) meticulously planned a grandiose tour of four Buddhist countries, travelling for a total of four months. We set off for Northern Thailand before touring the great frontiers of Myanmar from Mandalay in the North across to the ancient city of Old Bagan, then on to the spectacular natural wonders of Inle Lake, down to the Jurassic landscapes in the south of Hpa An and Mawlamyine before finishing in the vibrant bustle of Yangon.

It was here that we were planning to kill some time by a pool at the end of a rewarding but gruelling trip around Myanmar. Travelling here is often slow and tiresome, but the unique culture and charming locals make the journey totally worthwhile. From Yangon we had a flight booked via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Colombo, Sri Lanka. However, in light of recent global events and the unprecedented spread of the pandemic, travelling suddenly became problematic. It wasn’t until a few days after the British government had issued a no travel warning that I received notification of a flight change from the 22nd to the 23rd of March. Then, as Malaysia took stringent measures to lock their borders, an email arrived confirming the dreaded flight cancellation.

Initially we were considering heading back to the islands of Thailand to wait it out for a month or two but, as things took a daily turn for the worse, we realised our clearest path was to get back into Thailand, opening up many more options to fly back to Europe. We caught wind on the 21st that Thailand were tightening border control, and everyone needed medical approval that they were fit and healthy in order to fly. After booking our flight for the morning of the 23rd March, we sought out a hospital on the 22nd where a medical professional conducted a basic health test and wrote us a certification saying we had no Covid-19 symptoms and that we were in good health.

That evening whilst sleeping we received an email saying our flights from Yangon to Bangkok had changed from the morning to the evening on the 23rd , so we sat out the day at the hotel and arrived at the airport for our flight to Bangkok. Alas, we were greeted at the airport by a hundred or so travellers in dismay - they were being denied entry to the flight. Apparently, that day at 4pm Thailand had further restricted entry, and the Thai government stated that foreigners were only granted entry if they carried an official Covid-free test certificate within a 72-hour time span of travelling.

We immediately requested more information only to be told that in Yangon they would only test for Covid if one was to show symptoms of the illness, and that this would also lead to a 14-day quarantine period. Essentially because of the change in flight time we were now rendered unable to travel and yet another country had closed which had previously offered a route back. We met many other travellers who shared similar concerns - an older lady trying to get back to Australia was certainly going to be stuck in Myanmar for an indefinite amount of time. To further pile pressure upon our situation, our visas were due to expire the following day also which added to the air of uncertainty.

We met an English couple who had both Emirates flights via Dubai and Cathay Pacific flights via Hong Kong cancelled on them. Suffice to say many people were scrambling to book flight after flight, simply haemorrhaging money trying to somehow find a safe passage back to Europe. Everyone was left severely out of pocket, with the flights being cancelled and airline refund policies ranging anywhere between 30 and 60 day periods.

Seemingly all routes out of Myanmar were blocked - China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Malaysia were all impossibilities. The genuine anxiety of being trapped in a foreign world country with an expired visa for an indefinite amount of time was the stuff of nightmares and, above all else, one would not want to become ill there. After some time connecting with various people from other parts of Europe and British nationals, there was a shared unity amongst people in similar situations.

Through togetherness there was an emerging sense of having strength in numbers. I was already documenting occurrences that evening on a video, which I would launch the following day via an urgent SOS appeal on Twitter. Earlier in the day I had tried contacting the British Embassy in Yangon, calling five numbers I had found online - four of them did not work and the fifth just rang and rang. No help at all. Upon meeting another British man, he told me that he had been down to seek general help and advice earlier in the day only to be turned away at the door by a Burmese security guard with a business card and phone number which offered no help whatsoever.

I was ready to go big with this, as one must do with a balanced mind and the greatest of intent.

I gathered a troupe of various stranded Europeans and we returned back to the Grand Garden hotel for another night. After some deep searching on Skyscanner and having been given some inside information from one of the other travellers, I was well informed that there would be a flight leaving on the morning of the 25th March with Qatar airways, leaving Yangon and flying to Doha, followed by a connecting flight onwards to London Heathrow, where I would be two steps closer to seeking refuge at my Fiancees’ family home in North Germany. It was a last gasp attempt at fleeing Myanmar. What had, at one point, been the trip of a lifetime, had somehow spiralled into a scenario of chaos and strife.

I sat in the doorway of the Grand Garden Hotel, taking deep inhalations on a traditional Burmese cheroot. I had kicked smoking four years prior deep into the throws of an ayahuasca trip in the Amazon rainforest but, after the day I’d had, if ever there was a time to smoke again this was it. I carefully inputted the route on my Mac, the dates, 2 people and the algorithms went to work - $4600. Yangon to London Heathrow. Economy class. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and gazed in dismay that a flight could cost this much. I had to make the decision with conviction and looked beyond the monetary figure. Money isn’t actually a tangible thing, it is only a means to make things happen, and this had to happen.

In a few clicks the flight was booked, but I was still feeling hugely tentative regarding its departure. I had two nights and a full day before the flight left. I would still become proactive and see what the British Embassy planned to do with the hundreds of Britons stranded there - I needed a backup plan if this flight got cancelled. If that were the case, and I was out of pocket by the four thousand or so I had just committed to the flights, that would add a further level of instability to our predicament with the potential financial implications of being stuck there with severely limited funds with which to survive. The following day I launched an urgent twitter appeal through media channels and the embassy. Within the course of the day I had interviews arranged with the BBC and with Sky News should anything happen to the flights the following morning. That evening I had a call from the ambassador at the British Embassy in Yangon, he was articulate but really unable to offer much assistance at that time. He suggested setting up an email chain to keep me informed of potential routes out and I questioned why a jet could not be sent for British nationals for a direct flight back.

Long range jets are more than capable of running that route - I myself had flown on 13 hour flights several times direct from Europe to Asia. He told me that would be a long way off if it were to happen at all, and I questioned why when everyone would be more than happy to pay a fair sum of money for the flight? Profit could even be made from it, but he seemed to think the logistics of organising it were to prove too complicated. I was aware other embassies such as the Swiss embassy had a representative at the airport and knew exactly how many Swiss nationals were in Myanmar at that time, and that the French, Belgians and Germans were all well into discussions about organising private flights back and sending jets themselves. Unfortunately, British representatives had let the side down and effectively abandoned us in our time of need. I will forever remember the rather condescending line he dropped in the conversation, which for me rather defined their overall lack of compliance to aid the situation, as he told me “It’s not the apocalypse yet, is it?” I remained quiet.

The flight left the next day and we were on our way, one step closer to home. Our end destination had to be North Germany as our families were in Spain and Germany respectively and with Spain in complete lockdown. Germany was our only option.

As we were planning on travelling for a while, we had no home or anywhere to stay in England, especially on the verge of complete lockdown and with cases in London mushrooming, we really did not want to be stuck there.

When we arrived in Doha we searched for flights from London to Germany and managed to book a BA flight to Hamburg the following afternoon, another £659 for two flights. Ok, whatever - it’s only money, right?

With Bloody Marys, Cava and a rather sumptuous Chilean red to keep us company - the flight from Doha to Heathrow sailed by and we were back on British soil. After the hit we had taken on the flights we were more than determined to squeeze every bit of value out of them as possible.

Just one night to camp out the airport and the following day we could relax at home. As we set up a makeshift bed on the floor of Terminal 5 for the evening, Swantje decided to check-in for our flights so we were prepared the following day. However, there were some restrictions when checking-in stating that non-German passport holders were unable to board this flight...

We started to read online, and discovered that within the previous days Germany had also tightened border restrictions for non-German nationals and the flight was almost completely restricted to those returning home. Besides being engaged to be married in July there were no ties to Germany or any urgent reasons for travel when UK government warnings were for no overseas travel to take place.

This was all we needed after the events of the past few days, and I suddenly had visions of being stuck in England with my family overseas. We started making calls to the British embassy, the German embassy and Hamburg police trying to look for any avenues which could give us some sort of assurance or possibilities to increase my chances of getting through. Swantje spoke to Hamburg police and talked to a very calm and reassuring officer - he seemed to think it would be OK, but said he would speak to his superior and get back to her. Sometime later she received an email with a deep apology stating that from a government perspective I would not be permitted into the country. The German embassy in England stated more or less the same and they said it would be at the discretion of the border officer but ,if they were to closely follow the restrictions, without a very valid reason for travel entry would be denied and deportation would be a distinct possibility.

We slept the night in Terminal 5 on the hard floor after 25 hours in transit. The sleep was intermittently wracked with a deep sense of worry about how the following day would unfold. At 5am there was movement at the check-in counters and we tentatively approached desk as normal.

We handed over our passports to the lady on the desk and she scanned my passport along the reader sliding it several times looking puzzled. She made a phone call and another member of staff came over to the desk and explained there were some restrictions with Covid and asked my reasons for travelling to Germany. I explained it was my family home and we have pre-wedding planning meetings this seemed to meet her approval and after 5 minutes or so the lady overseeing the check-in clerk was telling her to override the warnings and issue a boarding pass.

We placed our bags on the conveyor belt and were another step closer to our return.

11 hours or so later we disembarked the airplane exhausted and hopeful. We approached and stood in the immigration line only to realise that we would be dealing with a rather stern looking middle aged lady. I ushered Swantje to the left side where three male police immigration officials sat at the desks. The one that became free was a figure of a man who resembled Lurch from The Addams Family. As I handed him my passport he looked intensely at it and glanced up, making direct eye contact, before asking in a guttural German voice “Vot do you vont here in Germany?” I tried explaining that I was with my fiancée and we planned to get married, he looked beyond me and motioned for Swantje to step forward.

It transpired he didn’t really understand my garbled English, but she approached him conversationally in a direct and stern manner telling him about our plans and our meetings with the civil office. He pondered for some time before reluctantly handing our passports back. And just like that we were through. We had made it against all the odds and, seemingly, something was shining bright for us guiding us back home.

Onwards to the haven of the North Sea coast and the last stop on the map, the town of Wilhelmshaven where the intention is to lay low until this chaos blows over.

By James @only_connecting

Cyber security

~By Nina~

There is a term in the cyber security field, called FUD. It stands for fear, uncertainty, and doubt. The old school cyber security leaders use it to gain budget for their initiatives. Can we say those three words describe the current situation in the society, concerning Coronavirus?

Of course, but I’m not a doctor. It’s difficult for me to ascertain which of the news on Coronavirus is fear. There is a good example related to it, though.

There is a theory that Coronavirus was released to cover up the harmful effect of 5G on people’s health. On the internet, you can find the news about 5G towers being burned down because of someone spreading fear. It stands straight in contrast to the scientific evidence. If you stand a couple of metres away from a 5G-based tower, the amount of radiation you get is near to what you get from your hairdryer. Facts beat the unfounded claims, such as the virus is part of a misinformation campaign. I don’t think it is. Still, some people choose to associate Coronavirus with 5G.

Can we say that nowadays, when people have fear, uncertainty, and doubt because of the virus, hackers and scammers are more active than ever?

They are active all the time. I wouldn’t say that now more than before. Hackers are very goal-oriented people. They don’t stop before getting what they came for, and they adjust their methods to the circum- stances fluidly. It just so happens that nowadays it is easier to get something from people than from machines. In 80% of the cases, the hacking starts with manipulating people to do something.

Like what?

Like installing something or clicking on some link, which will make your computer download some software. For example, if you get disconnected now, and you get a small pop-up window saying: “To get connected again, please enter your password.” This window will look precisely like a typical password prompt you see from time to time. What would you do?

If it happened right now while we talk, I would rush to restore the closed programme, so I would click yes.

In one of my previous companies, where I led cyber security business, I carried out a range of penetration tests. One of them was displaying pop-up windows on the employees’ computers and asking for their passwords.

Almost everyone closed that window the first time. A smaller group of people cancelled when we showed it for the second time. And everyone who saw the window for the third time provided their passwords. These simple tricks are highly effective. And in times of Coronavirus, when people are actively searching for information, they are vulnerable and genuinely worried about themselves or their families and friends. So sending a fake email from the World Health Organization would work well for a hacker now. I think it was Google that recently discovered that, on average, 19 million COVID-related publishing emails are sent every day.

Can you say that even now, when the whole world is in crisis, hackers are looking to profit from us?

We are speaking about criminals. Initially, a hacker was someone with a deep understanding of technology who was able to hack computers without evil purposes. At some point, the media picked up that being a hacker makes you a criminal. But there may be two sides to it. Criminals do take advantage of everything. If we take ransomware, it could be encrypting your disk and asking you to pay some money to decrypt it. A hospital during the pandemic makes an attractive target because they are very likely to pay quickly.

If we talk about ordinary people, who have to work from home, are they also a target now?

People who just switched to the home office may potentially be in danger because they and their companies are not dually prepared for the change. In the office, most of the corporate computer networks are secured to protect the integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility of data. All the internet traffic gets filtered through internal firewalls, which prevent employees from opening potentially harmful websites and also blocks unauthorised access from outside. So the companies must create equally strong network protection for working from home. If it’s not done correctly, there is a higher risk of a malicious intrusion. In the last months, a lot of businesses had to switch to remote for the first time and do it quickly, which can lead to mistakes.

A cyber criminal, passing by a vulnerable network or a device would typically take a chance to get in to see what’s inside, and then think of ways to monetise the obtained information. Unfortunately, an anti-virus may not be enough to protect your computer from hackers when you are outside of the corporate network. When you work from home, with your device not adequately configured, there is a lot more room for mistakes. It might not be your fault, and you might not be willingly doing anything wrong.

Can we say that in the current situation, every company that lets people work from home should prepare them technically to keep the corporate infrastructure safe? Like giving them some simple briefing, an instruction. Should it ideally have been done?

Ideally, yes. And this is a part of the company’s job. Not only to ensure cyber protection technically but also to teach the employees to use the given tools and to behave responsibly online. Imagine, if a tiger walks to you, you will probably either run away or pretend to be dead, or maybe try to attack the tiger. Those reactions are instinctive, as a result of thousands of years of evolution. The internet and com- puters have been around us for only dozens of years. Humans have not had not enough time to develop intuitive reactions to computer threats. You learn either from your own mistakes or because someone taught you.

Could you give some essential tips for ordinary people to stay safe from cyber threats these days?

Be increasingly careful what you do on the internet. Do not provide your passwords too quickly, even when asked repeatedly. There are a limited number of people and institutions or programs which are authorized to ask you for your password. Second, don’t be too quick with clicking links you are getting. Many of them are a kind of invitation, but you can’t tell what is behind them. Remember that if it is your company device, you should only use it for work. In a corporate environment, some of the mistakes can be prevented or corrected for you. But if you are remote, you may have more freedom and more risk in the absence of full traffic filtering. So try to separate your professional life from your private life up to a degree when using different devices. It’s not that difficult. Just remember that 80% of security incidents happen as a result of psychological manipulation.